Gefinor Rotana Hotel was officially opened in Beirut at a glittering function attended by more than 1,000 guests including the ministers of tourism of Lebanon, Syria and Jordan.
The opening coincided with the sixth Arab World Travel and Tourism Exchange. Since its soft opening last October, the 168 room Gefinor has enjoyed an average occupancy of nearly 60 per cent. "Conferences and meetings has been a good market, as well as holiday-makers from the GCC, who are coming and spending money," Daniel Hajjar, Rotana Hotels and Resorts' regional vice president, Lebanon and Syria, told Travel Trade Gazette, the official publication of AWTTE 2001. He said Rotana is concentrating on promoting its image in Lebanon where Gefinor is its first property. This summer, the hotel has launched a special promotion called "An Invitation to Beirut", targeting the GCC through its properties there.